Means for making core laminae



March 14, 1933. C VDALEY 1,901,584

IEANS FOR MAKING CORE WIN}! Filed June 16, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lam464W, tam/1%,

March 14, 1933. J. c. DALEY MEANS FOR MAKING CORE LAMINZE 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed June 16, 1930 10222161 lflliwl Patented Mar. 14, 1933 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE JAMES C. DALEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TOJEFFERSON ELECTRIC COM- PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OFILLINOIS MEANS FOR MAKING CORE LAIMIINE Application filed June 16, 1930.Serial No. 461,434.

This invention relates to the manufacture of laminated transformer coresand the like, and its object is to provide an improved means forblanking or punching out the laminae at an increased rate and with aminimum of waste. i i

The invention provides improved die means for punching or blanking thelaminae and improved means for aligning the strip of material andholding it aligned as the laminze are punched or blanked therefrom.

The laminae may be made of sheet iron or any other suitable or preferredmaterial, and the means which I provide enables producing same in largequantities expeditiously, quickly and economically and, as alreadypointed out, with little waste.

The present invention is an improvement, generally, over the means andmethod disclosed in my prior patent No. 1,653,152 issued December 20,1927.

One preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a bottom view of the upper punch and punch holder;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the lower die and die block;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the end of the strip of material after thefirst laminae punching step has been performed as the strip is initiallyfed between the die and punch means of the press, the shaded portionsindicating the material punched from the strip;

Figure 4 is a similar view showing the positionvof the punch and dieelements in dotted lines and the manner of punching the laminae from thematerial by the next and succeeding punching and blanking steps;

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view taken on a vertical transverse planethrough the upper and lower punch and die means, corresponding to theline 5-5 of Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the laminae formed by the meansof the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, each of the core pieces or laminae 5 (Fig. 6)is of general E formation, having a base 6 and three parallel legs 7, 8and 9 extending parallel with each other and at substantially rightangles tothe base 6. The laminae or pieces 5 are'identical and matcheach other in contour and dimensions. The intermediate legs 8 aredisposed centrally between the legs 7 and 9 and are preferably widerthan the end legs or tongues 7 and 9, and the bases 6 may be wider thanthe legs 7 and 9 and slightly narrower than the legs 8, although thismay of course vary.

In making up a transformer, for example, the core pieces or laminae arelaid up or stacked upon each other with the legs 7 8 and 9 upon eachother and the bases 6 alternately at opposite ends. The coil is woundaround the intermediate legs 3 and through the spaces between them andthe outer legs 7 and 9, the central or intermediate legs 8 forming thecore proper for carrying the flux through the coil while the outer legs7 and 9 and bases 6 form the yoke about the coil. The free ends of theintermediate legs 8 are notched at 10 and the free edges of the bases 6are similarly notched at 12 for purposes of assembly, the notches 12being disposed centrally of the bases 6 and in longitudinal alignmentwith the notches 10.

In producing or making the core pieces or laminae 5 I employ strips 15of suitable material. Where the laminae are to be used for makingtransformer cores, or the like, as herein disclosed, they are preferablyformed from strips of suitable sheet iron, although of course any othersuitableor preferred material may be employed. The strips 15 of materialare preferably substantially flat and may, of course, be of any suitableor preferred gauge or thickness. They may in practice be punched cold.

For the purpose of punching or stamping the laminae, the strip 15 is fedby suitable means designated diagrammatically at 16 in Fig. 2 betweenthe upper and lower dies 18 and 20 of a suitable press, the strip 15being suitably guided and fed over the lower die 20.

The lower die 20 comprises a die block or plate 25 which may be suitablyfastened down upon the bed of the press or other support. Suitablysecured as by a pressed fit or otherwise in the opening 27 in the dieblock 25, is

and extend transversely across the the lower die proper 26. One meansfor guiding the strip 15 may comprlseshoulders or flanges 21 formed oneither side of the die 26.

The die 26 is provided with two substantially square die openings 28 and29, an E- shaped die opening 30 and two elongated rectangular openin 32and 34 all preferably bounded by re atively sharp cutting or shearingedges, as well understood in the art. The die 26 is, for the purpose ofclarity shown as made up in one or an integra piece, but it may ofcourse, in practi e, be made up of a plurality of strips and locksassembled and suitably interlocked in block 25 to form the openings 2829, 30, 32 and 34. In practice it is usually desirable to avoid an ularpieces in making up the die proper and to make the die up at least ascompletely as possible of oblong pieces, so that angular cutting edgesand corners are avoided.

The strip of material 15 is fed between the die members 18 and 20 in thedirection indi-. cated by the arrow in Figure 2. The E- shaped dieopening is identical with the E- shaped laminae which it is desired topunch, while the substantially square die openings 28 and 29 conformwith the outer marginal contour of said laminae. The openings 28 and 29,it will be noted, each have pro ections 31 and 33, the former correspondng with the notched opening 12 in each laminae while the lattercorresponds to the lateral dimension of the space between theintermediate le 8 and the other le S 7 and 9. In other wor s, the legsof the ie opening 30 are disposed adjacent the legs of the openings 28and 29, while the bases of the openings-28, 29 and 30 are on oppos1tesides relative to a transverse line drawn between the opening 30 and theopenings 28 and 29.

The opening 30 is disposed centrally of the openings 28 and 29 on theside of the die over which the strip of material 15 travels first in itsmovement between the dies. The bases of the openings 28 and 29 are inalignment ath of travel of the strip 15. The s ace 36 tween the openin s28 and 29 is o a width equal to the wi th of the middle legs 8 of thelaminae 5 and the base of the opening 30 extends transversely across thepath of travel of the stock 15 and parallel with the bases of theopenings 28 and 29.

The middle leg of the die opening 30 is aligned with the strip ofmaterial 36 between the openings 28 and 29 and is of the same width asthe strip of material 36, extending from the base of the opening 30 inthe same direction as the direction of movement of the strip 15 betweenthe dies. The projections 33 are aligned longitudinally with the legs ofopening 30 and the openings 32 and 34, as best shown in Figure 2, thewidth of the latter openings being equal to the width be tween theintermediate legs 8 and the outer legs 7 and 9. In the embodiment shownthe outer legs 7 and 9 of each laminae are of equal width, and thespaces between the central and outer legs are substantial] of the samewidth as these outer legs. T e bases of the openings 28, 29 and 30 havelips or tongues 53, and the outer end of the central leg of the opening30 has a tongue 54 for forming thenotches 10 and 12 in the bases andouter ends of the central legs of the lammae 5 as already referred to.

The cooperating upiper punch means 18 is rec1 rocab-e u and own and intoand out of t e lower ie openings 28, 29, 30, 32 and 34. It comprises ablock 60 in which the upper ends of the upper punch member 62 aresuitably secured at 63, and this block 60 is, in turn secured to a blockor head member 65 which may be mounted in a suitable punch head orholder for vertical reciprocation. The punch 62 comprises thesubstantially square punch parts 67 and 68 and the E- shaped punch part69 which fit in the die openings 28, 29 and'30 of the lower die for upand down movement into and out of said openings and the oblong punchparts 70 and 72 which fit in the lower die openings 32 and 34 for up anddown movement into and out of the openings 32 and 34. The punch parts67, 68 and 69 have notches 74 for cooperation with the tongues or lips31, 53 and 54 at the openings 28, 29 and 30 of the lower For holding thestrip aligned between the unch and die elements and punching alignmgholes in the strip as it is fed therebetween, the upper punch 18 has apair of'punch pins or posts 76. These pins 76 are secured at their upperends in the block 60 and the lower die 26 has registering holes 80 forreceiving the punch pins 76 as the upper die is depressed into punchingcooperation with the lower die. Between the up er punch parts 68 and 70and rearwardly of the punch part 67 are two aligning and holding pins 82in longitudinal alignment with each of the punch pins 76 as shown inFigure 1. The lower ends of the aligning and holding pins 82 arepreferably tapered and these pins are mounted at their upper ends in theblocks 60 and 65 to yield vertically therein. These pins are morespecifically shown and described in my prior patent identified above.

In punching the laminae the strip 15 is first fed in sufliciently todispose its inner end between the punch part 69 and die opening 30 butpreferably not to an extent to be caught by the pins 76 and 80. When theupper punch is depressed into cooperation with the lower die the punchparts 69, 7 0 and 72 and the pin 76 punch from the strip 15 the E-shapedopening 92, rectangular sideopenings 93 and 94, and the aligning opening95, as best shown by the shaded portions in Figure 3. The materialstamped from the opening 92 forms one of the E-shaped laminae.

The following separation of the punch member from the die memberreleases the strip and it is again fed forward a distance sufficient tobring the opening 95 in position to be engaged by the aligning pin 82,Figure 4 illustrating this position by showing the strip 15 in fulllines and the die openings over which the strip is positioned in dottedlines. The material punched from the opening 92 during the initial stepforming one of the E-shaped lamina) 5, and from Figure 4 it will benoted that the legs of the open ing 92 and the openings 93 and 94 are sopositioned that when the punch is depressed the second time thesubstantially square punch elements 28 and 29 punch two E-shaped laminaefrom the portion of the strip around the openings 92, 93 and 94, thematerial between the intermediate and outer legs of the first E-shapedlaminae punched forming the adjacent outer legs of the next two laminaepunched and the material between the first laminae and the rectangularopenings 93 and 94 forming the intermediate legs of the next twolaminae, as will be understood from Figure 4.

Thus, as soon as the strip is completely between the punch and dieelements, there are produced on each operation of the press threecomplete core laminae substantially identical in contour, not only witheach other, but also with the core laminae produced on the succeedingoperations of the machine. The inner legs of the two last punchedlaminae interlock transversely between the legs of the previouslypunched laminae from the opening 92, and the material 97' and 98 leftbetween the legs of the opening 92 on the preceding punching forms theinner legs of the laminae formed on the succeeding punching, as statedabove.

One principal feature of my invention is that the tongues 120 extend ina backward direction relative to the direction of advance of the strip15. When arranged in this man ner any likelihood that these tongues willcatch on any projection and be folded during further advance of thestrip and eventually jam the machine is reduced.

The strips of material 15 employed are preferably of a width slightlygreater than the transverse distance from the outer edge of the dieopening 28 to the outer edge of the die opening 29 so that as thelaminae are punched or stamped from the material narrow longitudinalretention margins, and transverse strips and the slightly enlargedsquare portions formed at the end of the central leg of the centralopening 92 and at the ends of the central and outer legs of the lastformed laminae, together with the strips from the openings 32 and 34constituting the only waste material in the production of the laminaefrom the strip 15. The present invention lends itself to the productionof the laminae in large quantities, expeditiously, quickly andeconomically and with little waste, and such little waste as there isretains the strip together after the first laminae have been stampedtherefrom so that it may be fed from the machine and removed frombetween the dies by its feeding movement thcrebetween. Suitable means(not shown) may be provided for stripping the stock from the punch meansof the press.

Having thus described one preferred em bodiment of my invention what Iclaim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In combination, a diehaving three die openings, one being E-shaped and two beingsubstantially square, the latter having projections, the E-shaped diehaving the three leg portions extending towards the other two dieopenings and its base opposite said two openings, the intermediate legof said E-shaped die having a width equal to the width of the spacebetween the other two die openings and the outer legs of said E-shapeddie opening being adjacent and directly opposite certain of saidprojections, and a cooperating punch having complementary punch portionsmovable into and out of the die openings of said die.

2. In combination, a die having three die openings, one being E-shapedand two being substantially square, the latter having projections, theE- haped die having the three leg portions extending towards the othertwo die openings, the outer legs of said E-shaped die opening beingadjacent and directly opposite certain of said projections, two separatedie openings on opposite sides of the E-shaped die and having ends lyingadjacent and directly opposite other of said projections, and acooperating punch having complementary punch portions movable into andout of the die openings of said die.

3. A machine for cutting core laminations from a strip of materialcomprising cooperating punch and die elements adapted for simultaneouslypunching three grouped E- shaped laminations, said punch and dieelements being formed to punch the grouped E-shaped laminations from thematerial dissed between the outer base edges of two of said laminationsat one side of the group and the outer base edge of the other laminationat the other side of the group so that the free ends of the legs of oneof said laminations will be adjacent and opposed to the free ends of thelegs of the other laminations.

4:. A machine for cutting core laminations from a strip of material,comprising cooperating punch and die elements adapted for simultaneouslypunching a group of more than two laminations each having a closed sideand an open side, said punch and die ing cooperating punch and dieelements adapted for simultaneously punching a group of more than twolaminations each having a closed side and an open slde, said punch anddie elements being arran ed to punch the grouped laminations from t ematerial disposed between the closed sides of the laminations with theopen sides of said laminations adjacent and in o posed relation and withthe closed sides 0 the laminations disposed across the path of movementof the strip.

6. A machine for cutting core laminations from a movable strip ofmaterial, comprising cooperating punch and die elements adapted forsimultaneously punching a group of more than two laminations eachhaving. a closed side and an open side, said punch and die elementsbeing arranged to punch the grouped laminations from the materialdisposed between the closed sides of the laminations 'with the opensides of said laminations adjacent and in o posed relation and with theclosed sides 0 the laminations disposed across the path of movement ofthe strip, said punch and die elements being also formed to leave narrowstrips along opposite sides of the movable strip.

7. A machine for cutting core laminations from a movable strip ofmaterial, comprising cooperating punch and die elements adapted forsimultaneously punching a group of more than two laminations each havinga base side with leg portions projecting from said base sides and freeat their outer ends, said punch and die elements being arranged to punchthe grouped laminations from the material disposed between the basesides of the grouped laminations with the free ends of the le portionsof said laminations adjacent an in opposed relation and with the basesides of said laminations disposed across the path of movement of thestrip.

8. A machine of the character described, having means for cutting threeE-shaped members from a movable strip, said means being arranged to outtwo of said members crosswise of the strip with the legs of the E-shapedmembers extending away from the direction of movement of the strip andthe third E-shaped member with its legs interlacing with the legs ofsaid first two E-shaped members.

9. In a machine of the character described, means for cuttinglaminations having projecting portions from a movable strip, and meansfor cutting from said strip laminations having a greater number ofprojecting portions than the laminations cut by said rst means, saidlast means being arran d to dispose the laminations cut thereby withtheir (greater number of projecting portions exten in away from thedirection of movement of t e strip.

10. In a machine of the character described, means for cuttinlaminations having projecting ortions rom a movable strip, and means orcutting from said strip laminations having a greater number of projectinportions than the laminations cut by sai first means, said last meansbeing arranged to interlace the projecting portions of thelaminations'cut by said first means with the projecting portions of thelaminations cut by said last means.

11. In a machine of the character de-' scribed, means for cuttinglaminations having projecting portions from a movable strip, and meansfor cutting from said strip laminations having a greater number ofprojectin portions than the laminations cut by said rst means, said lastmeans being arranged ahead of said first means in the direction ofmovement of the strip to dispose the laminations cut by said last meanswith their greater number of portions extending away from the directionof movement of the strip.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 13th da of June,1930.

J ES 0. DALEY.

